Kentucky Elk — Unit 4
Elk Hunt Unit 4
Kentucky Unit 4 covers 787,996 acres and lies 39 miles west of Pikeville and 52 miles north-east of London. 8% of it is public land, mostly national forest (6%) and state land (2%). In 2025, hunters took 21 elk here. The 2026 draw put up 170 tags here.
Your chance of drawing here
Every elk license type on offer in Unit 4, with the prior-draw chance for a first-choice nonresident applicant. Type your points in to see your own number.
Chances are from the 2026 draw (the most recent) for a first-choice nonresident. "Points needed" = the cut in the last draw.
Simple view Odds at every point level-
— Cut level
-
COW-FA Cow (antlerless) firearms elk quota hunt (one of two 5-day weeks randomly assigned) 164 tags · Standard— Cut level
-
— Cut level
-
YOUTH Youth-only either-sex elk quota hunt (valid during all elk quota seasons, any legal equipment) 26 tags · Youth— Cut level
| Hunt | Your odds | Points needed | Tags / applicants | License | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BULL-FA ↗ Bull firearms elk quota hunt (one of two 5-day weeks randomly assigned) Rifle | — Cut level | — | 140 / — | Standard | Sep 26 – Oct 7, 2026 |
| COW-FA ↗ Cow (antlerless) firearms elk quota hunt (one of two 5-day weeks randomly assigned) Rifle | — Cut level | — | 164 / — | Standard | Nov 28 – Jan 6, 2027 |
| ES-ARCH ↗ Either-sex archery/crossbow elk quota hunt Archery | — Cut level | — | 170 / — | Standard | Sep 12 – Dec 11, 2026 |
| YOUTH ↗ Youth-only either-sex elk quota hunt (valid during all elk quota seasons, any legal equipment) Rifle | — Cut level | — | 26 / — | Youth | Sep 12 – Jan 6, 2027 |
What these columns mean
- Your odds —
- the share of applicants at your point level who drew this tag in the 2026 draw. Not a forecast: quotas and demand move every year.
- The badge —
- plain language for that number. Likely draw 75% or better · Real chance 40%+ · Long shot 15%+ · Point builder below that, so you are applying mainly to bank a point · Undersubscribed means fewer first-choice applicants than tags, so everyone who applied drew.
- Points needed —
- the lowest point total that still got a tag in the 2026 draw, and how that cut has moved since the earliest draw we hold.
- Tags / applicants —
- tags on offer and first-choice applicants for them, as the agency published them. Under five tags we print counts instead of a percentage, because one applicant either way swings it.
What it costs to apply (2026 nonresident fees)
| License | Up front | Gone if you miss | If you draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard license | $10 | $10 | $570 |
| Youth license | $10 | $10 | $370 |
Application window: opens Aug 1, closes Apr 30, 2027. Full fee breakdown.
The country
Boundaries are drawn for orientation only — the written boundary description in the regulations governs.
Who owns the ground
- Private 724,324 ac · 92%
- National Forest 44,677 ac · 6%
- State land 15,908 ac · 2%
- Other public 2,419 ac · 0%
- Department of Defense 622 ac · 0%
- County or city land 45 ac · 0%
Source: PAD-US 4.1 Fee Managers (PADUS4_1FeeManagers) — USGS-published hosted feature layer
How the hunting has gone
What Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources publishes for this area after each season — harvest statistics for everyone who hunted it, not draw odds and not a forecast. Kentucky's figures are counts of elk taken by permit holders in each unit, as KDFWR publishes them - not a survey estimate. Every count reconciles against the permits sold and the success rate the agency prints beside it.
| Season | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 21 | 27% |
| 2024 | 35 | 46% |
| 2023 | 36 | 27% |
| 2022 | — | 31% |
| 2021 | — | 36% |
| 2020 | — | 45% |
What people carried (2025 harvest)
- Archery 8 · 42%
- Firearm 11 · 58%
What the agency says about the area
Kentucky is approximately 95% privately owned, and much of the public land available for elk hunting received significant hunting pressure. The EHU system was developed in 2019 to reduce the risk of overharvesting elk in any one area.
Source: Elk Hunting Info (unit drawing, 2026 per-unit hunter caps, 2025 success by unit)
Boundary: KDFWR Elk_Hunting_Units (hosted feature layer) — the seven Elk Hunting Units
Harvest: Elk Hunting Info (unit drawing, 2026 per-unit hunter caps, 2025 success by unit)
Harvest: KDFWR Elk Hunting Info page — 2026-04 Wayback capture carrying the 2024 per-unit harvest table
Harvest: KDFWR Elk Hunting Info page — 2026-01 Wayback capture carrying the 2023 per-unit harvest table